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Public art abounds in the city, like this steel sculpture outside of the Portland Art Museum.

My Trip

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Jamie Francis

Portland’s thriving and innovative art scene keeps in touch with international trends while remaining true to its Pacific Northwest roots. Events like First Thursday (in the Pearl District) and Last Thursday (in the Alberta Arts District in the summer) draw big crowds, but local galleries, museums and arts organizations continue to churn in the interim. Mainstays like the Portland Institute of Contemporary Art and the Portland Art Museum have full calendars of visiting artist lectures and events that supplement exhibitions around the city.

Galleries and museums

Holding sway as the premier collecting museum in Oregon, the Portland Art Museum occupies an entire city block in the South Park Blocks. Home to a dizzying array of work from all over the world, it also boasts the Clement Greenberg Collection, a personal look into the taste of one of Modernism’s most powerful critics. Alongside these 20th century masterpieces, the museum also highlights regional contemporary artists at its APEX space, possesses a fine collection of Native American art, schedules regular exhibitions of its collection of world-class prints and drawings and frequently hosts blockbuster events from major collections, both public and private.

Outside of the museum walls, commercial and alternative galleries abound. Some venues have stood the test of time (and the reinvention of the Pearl District), while others are upstarts looking to make a splash with young artists and new media. Cornerstones like PDX Contemporary Art and Elizabeth Leach Gallery show a mixture of local and international emerging and mid-career artists. Their exhibitions run the gamut from photography to abstract painting to more conceptual considerations. Russo Lee Gallery, Charles A. Hartman Fine Art, Augen Gallery and Froelick Gallery all continue this trend, with a mixture of original works from prominent locals and the occasional blue-chip name.

Nearby, younger spaces like Upfor focus on video, new media and installations that speak to Portland’s place in the ever-decentralizing art world. Straddling the area between traditional gallery and alternative exhibition space, PNCA’s 511 Gallery, Adams & Ollman, and Fourteen30 Contemporary stand at the edge of the avant-garde. Meanwhile, the venerable nonprofit Blue Sky Gallery has a long history of advocacy and showing first-rate photography.

Alternative spaces

Beyond the more traditional models, some spaces fully embrace the moniker of “alternative space,” playing host to exhibitions, performances, publications and films. The Everett Station Lofts are a group of combined living and work spaces in Northwest Portland, focusing on small galleries and project spaces with an immersive and community-oriented approach. Other exhibition spaces like S1, Yale Union, and the Portland Museum of Modern Art expand on these ideas to showcase emerging artists and more experimental endeavors.

Disjecta, in the Kenton neighborhood, and the Art Gym at Marylhurst University are less grassroots, but they are interested in furthering a regional understanding of the arts through professional publications, retrospectives and Disjecta’s Portland Biennial. If you want to buy some books, prints or various art objects, while also taking in an exhibition, head over to Ampersand or Nationale, where their galleries thrive alongside commercial spaces.

Exploring all of Portland’s art scene can be a daunting task. Luckily, there are multiple maps, calendars and schedules to simplify your your art outing. For public art, check out Public Art PDX. Interested in attending First Thursday? Click through to the Portland Art Dealers Association for a smattering of member galleries and related institutions. Or, if you’re having trouble deciding, head on over to our Visual Arts section to view a curated list of our favorite exhibitions this season.

You’ll find public art integrated into architectural façades, along the street, in the parks, inside public buildings and in the sculpture garden outside of the Portland Art Museum.

Portland’s largest art event, Last Thursday on Alberta has been showcasing art, music and food for more than 15 seasons. Every last Thursday of the month, artists, musicians and performers line Northeast…

Through performances and exhibitions, lectures and workshops, and the annual Time-Based Art Festival, PICA constructs a citywide platform for the creation and discovery of contemporary art. For current information artists and events…

Find out why the oldest museum in the Northwest, the Portland Art Museum, is internationally renowned for exciting art experiences. Located in the heart of downtown’s cultural district, the museum’s campus includes…

Launched in 1981, Elizabeth Leach Gallery has focused on presenting prominent Northwest and internationally established artists working in a wide variety of contemporary media. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday from…

Founded in 2013 by Theo Downes-Le Guin, Upfor presents emerging and established artists working in digital and other mediums. The 1,700-square-foot gallery offers a versatile exhibition and performance space in Portland’s visual…

In 1989, three adjacent buildings in Portland’s Old Town District were renovated and converted into Everett Station Lofts, made up of 47 live/work units. Sixteen storefront units are reserved for artists who…

YU is a center for contemporary art in Southeast Portland, led by a desire to support emerging and under-acknowledged contemporary artists, propose new modes of production and stimulate the ongoing public discourse…

Disjecta builds ambitious programs that promote artists and engage communities. Called one of Portland’s top 10 cultural hotspots by The Guardian and “one of the Pacific Northwest’s most vital and important arts…

A university gallery and educational space, The Art Gym organizes exhibitions and publications for emerging and established artists based in the Pacific Northwest, fostering cultural risk-tasking and building the art historical record…

Established in 2008, Ampersand presents monthly exhibitions of contemporary artworks alongside a curated selection of anonymous found photography, printed ephemera and works on paper by unknown or outsider artists. Committed to cultural…